Cyanoacrylate glue as an alternate to sutures for mesh fixation in inguinal hernia repair: A randomised control trial

Abstract

Background: Hernia is the “Protrusion of the viscous or a part of the viscous through an abnormal opening in the walls of its containing cavity [1]. Lichtenstein tension free mesh repair is the most commonly performed operation by a general surgeon. Postoperative pain can be due to multiple reasons like irritation from the suture used to fix the mesh, by the mesh itself, nerve entrapment etc. This study is used to compare the effectiveness of Cyanoacrylate glue in the fixation of mesh in elective inguinal hernia repair compared to conventional mesh fixation by sutures in terms of duration of surgery,post operative pain and analgesia requirement and return to normal activity. Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to compare the postoperative pain score and analgesia requirement in patients who underwent Lichtenstein tension free hernia repair with cyanoacrylate glue versus conventional surgery using polypropylene sutures. Secondary objective is to compare the duration of surgery and the time taken for return to normal activity.Methodology: This study was conducted between October 2017 and September 2019 and included 50 patients who were randomly assigned into two groups of 25 patients each,glue group and suture group respectively.All cases were followed up for a period of 3 months. Results: In our study, patients who underwent Lichtenstein tension free mesh repair using cyanoacrylate glue had reduced postoperative pain score and required less analgesia compared to conventional suture repair with reduced time taken for surgery and a early return to normal activity.Conclusion: This study concludes that cyanoacrylate glue is an effective alternate to conventional sutures for mesh fixation in Lichtenstein tension free hernia repair as the postoperative complications: Pain and analgesia requirement with an early return to normal activity.